Hetalia When They Cry
by Yoongi-cat
Summary: After moving to Hinamizawa, Ludwig Beilschmidt's paranoia drastically increases as he tries to uncover the truth about the village and the fact that his friends will kill him. Based on Higurashi When They Cry.
1. (Onikakushi-hen) Chapter 1

**"Please do not deplore yourself.**

 **Even if the world does not forgive you, I will forgive you.**

 **Please do not deplore yourself.**

 **Even if you do not forgive the world, I will forgive you.**

 **So please tell me.**

 **What will it take for you, to forgive me?"**

 **-Frederica Bernkastel**

 _Short gore warning_

 _June 1983_

The sound of a shattering lamp and the sounds of a person being beaten up echoed across the empty room as a young boy repeatedly raised and brought down his baseball bat on his victim, mercilessly hitting them. Blood coated the scene as the boy dropped his bat, his breath ragged at what he did. Two other young boys lied in front of him, not a single limb moving from them after their merciless beating.

 _Short gore ends here_

 _Spirited Away by the Demon Chapter 1 - The Beginning_

Ludwig sighed contently as he woke uo from his slumber, the chirping of birds greeting him good morning. He stretched his arms and went downstairs. "Guten morgen (Good morning), Gilbert." He greeted. Gilbert turned around. "Guten morgen!" He greeted back and presented to him a simple but hearty breakfast: bread, toast, rolls, marmalade, honey, eggs, ham, cheese and a cup of coffee.(1)

Within a few minutes, the meal was quickly devoured and Ludwig stood up from his chair. "I'm heading out." He called to his brother as he slipped on his shoes. "Ah, Luddy?" The albino called back. "Do me an awesome favor and tell Feliciano thank you for the eggs, alright?" He requested. The blonde nodded and exited his house.

 _***First person - Ludwig***_

It's been a month since I moved to Hinamizawa. It's my first time hearing that they have a good air circulation.

"Ciao Luddy! Buongiorno (Good morning)!" A sweet Italian voice called out to me. "Early again, eh?" I said as I walked past Feliciano, him following suit. "Don't you want to sleep in a little longer?"

"But if I take my siesta longer, I'd risk myself making you wait for me!" Feli said. "Who told you that?" I countered. "Meanie! Why wouldn't you wait for me?! I wait for you!" He pouted.

"Don't be upset." I assured. "I have better things to do." Feli gave me his cute pouty face. "Luddy, why are you being like this? like this?(2)" He asked, repeating the last part of his question. "Hey, entspannen sie sich (relax). I would always wait for you." I said.

"Ve...grazie (thanks)..." Feli thanked, his cheeks dusted pink. "That's very nice of you." He commented.

Oh right, I forgot to tell you. This brunette cutie with a curl on the right said of his hair is Feliciano Vargas. He tends to blush a lot when flustered and I think it suits him well.

"Hey, I just wanted to tell you that my brother said danke (thank you) for the eggs."

"Ah! Nessun problema (No problem)!"

I've only known him for a few weeks but I only know that his name isn't the weird thing about him.

"Tell him he's welcome, ve~" He ended his sentence with a cute verbal tic.

"Ah, there you are." Another Italian voice rang, but it sounded older. Ah yes, it's Lovino, Feli's older brother. "What's going on? Why are the two of you late?" He asked. "Ciao Lovino! Buongiorno!"

"Hey! YOU'RE the one who's always late, not us!" I countered. "Long time no see, bastard(3)!" Lovino playfully said, the insult was intentional, in case you're wondering. "How long has it been now, hm?"

"I've been only away for two days, Lovino." I stated. All three of us then began to walk forward. Unlike Feliciano, who's self-concious(4), this Vargas brother likes to set his own rules. His full name is Lovino Vargas. He's the upperclassman and is probably the head of the school we attend.

"So, what was the reason why you went back to the city?" Lovino asked. "I had to go there because of a funeral." I answered, not stopping my steps. "That's what we did the whole time." I added.

"Well, did you come back and brought the thing I asked you to buy?"

"I didn't bring back anything, I said I just went to a funeral, remember?"

 _Time skip by a long walk_

Hinamizawa is a small village and the school only has one classroom for everybody. We're a total of 50 students made up from different age groups and different grades. We share the same teacher as well. I really don't know how Miss Lena does it but it must be very hard teaching all different grades.

When other students need help, I sometimes teach Feliciano and Lovino myself.

"Wait, how do you solve this again?"

"Oh, the equation goes like this..."

 _Ding! Ding! Ding!_

The sound of the bell was heard, signalling that it was free time.

"Wow Luddy! You're a very good teacher, did you know that?" Feliciano stated as he highlighted important details in his math book. "You made it easy!"

Instead of looking up, I slumped over my chair. "I hate teaching you two." I swore. "It made me realize how very little I know."

"You know what they say: if you gotta teach someone, you better know it three times than they do." Lovino half-encouraged. "Hey! What did I do anyway?! Aren't you a year higher than me, dummkopf?!" I said, feeling insulted at his "encouragement". "You're the one who's supposed to be teaching me!"

With that, Lovino grabbed my face. "Si si, whatever. Details of this, details of that." He said, pushing me off. "Hey Ludwig, it's okay! Oh, I was wondering what you're doing tomorrow. Do you have plans?" Feliciano asked. "Huh?" I looked up.

"I may be wrong, but you still have problems navigating yourself around Hinamizawa, si?" Lovino guessed. "Ja, I still don't know my way around besides school and the central city."

"And that's what Lovino and Feliciano(5) will do. Give Ludwig a long walk across the village, okay?" Feliciano said. "I was gonna make lunch as well for all of us, are you interested?" Lovino butted in. "Si! It will be great! Join us?"

"Ja sure." I said with sarcasm. "If I'm free." I added. "Oi, what's with the stupid attitude?! You have two brothers asking you out, you potato bastard!" Lovino cursed. "I said if I'm free." I casually repeated.

Lovino didn't take it seriously. He growled, clutching his fist tightly. "Well Ludwig, are you gonna be free tomorrow? Are you?" Feliciano asked, his beady eyes looking through me. "Ja ja, I'm free." I said, holding my hand up defensively.

Feliciano's mood improved. "Happy now." He said. "Hey, what's with you?! Why do you treat my little brother better but not me?!" Lovino hissed, you could practically see devil horns out of his head. I stuck my tongue out in reply.

"Hey Feli, maybe it should just be the two of us mingling tomorrow."

"Sure! If that's what you want, ve!"

"Hey, what are you two talking about?! I was the one who suggested that!"

 _Time skip by the end of school_

 _***Third person***_

"This is the Kirkland Shrine! The view is very nice here!" Feliciano described as Ludwig climbed up the endless stairs. "There's gonna be a festival here during the next break." Lovino said as the trio walked further ahead.

At the picnic site, Feliciano laid out the blanket and the lunches he made. "Ta-da! See, I said that I would make lunches for all of us! This one's my specialty!" The bubbly Italian proclaimed. "Wow Feli, you made a lot." Ludwig commented as he and Lovino took off their shoes and sat down on the blanket.

"Hey, I hope we're not interrupting." A young female Australian voice said. Lovino turned and was greeted by a young girl who had a short curly side-pony and a young boy with blonde hair wearing a sailor outfit. Both of them had thick eyebrows. "There you guys are!" The older Italian said.

 _***First person - Ludwig***_

Oh, it's Peter and Wendy. Both of them are in my class, too. Their full names are Peter Kirkland and Wendy Kirkland. You probably won't believe it but they're a few grades younger than me.

"What's happening? What's with the excitement?" Peter asked. "What does it look like to you?" I replied. "I can see that, jerk(6)!" He said and smacked me with such strength for a little boy, which sent me toppled over. "What I want to know is why you three are on someone else's property?"

I sat back up in a flash. "Hey, I know this shrine is a public property so don't act like you own it!" I said. "Ludwig is right, Peter. It can be anyone's property." Wendy stated. "Ahhh, Wendy is always a good little girl." I said. "Why don't you sit next to me?" I requested, making Peter glare at me. "Well then." He began. "It appears that I have no choice but to sit and join all of you." Peter said slyly.

"Es tur mir leid, there's not enough room for you to sit and not enough food for you." I countered, sticking my tongue out. "Yes there is!" With that, we began to fight each other: teen vs child.

"Hey, hey, let's not fight now! There's plenty of food for Peter to dig in!" Feliciano said, attempting to break our fight.

"Nein! Because I'm planning to eat Peter's share!"

"Jerk! I'm not gonna allow you to eat it!"

Wendy grabbed a pair of chopsticks and gave it to Peter. "Here." She offered. Peter removed the wrap and sat down. "Yay! Finally!" Peter grabbed a piece of food, declaring "I'm going to eat all of this share!"

"Not if I finish first!" I said and engaged ourselves in an eating contest.

"Ahhh, look at them, it's nice being young."

"Eat up everyone! Don't be shy!"

"Come to vati!" I said as I dived my chopsticks for a food item. Peter glared and stood up. "So you think you're getting it?! Crazy!" With that, he bonked me on my back.

"I should've followed the rules..." I groaned. "There were rules?" Lovino innocently asked. "Eating lunch together is so much fun, is so much fun, I like it, ve~!" Feliciano sang. "This is very delicious, Feliciano." Wendy complimented.

 _Time skip to sunset_

"It's time to call it a day, amicis." Lovino delcared as the cry of the cicadas were heard. "Arrivederci (Goodbye)!" He said as he saluted to me and Feliciano.

"Danke for putting this together, Lovino." I thanked. "It was awesome." I added. "See you tomorrow, big brother!" Feliciano said as Lovino turned and ran to his path.

"I had fun, Luddy!" Feli told me. "How about you?" I smiled. "Ja. I enjoyed it. I fact, I had so much fun that I don't want to go home." I said.

"If you don't mind," he began. "we could go somewhere fun as well. Can we?" I nodded. "Okay. But where? Is it far?" I asked. "Not really, just a walking distance." Feli answered. "Follow me!" With that, he took a headstart. "Whoa wait!" I followed him.

Feliciano giggled as I followed him. "Ve~! I haven't been there for a while!" He said. "I wonder what's there, I wonder what's there~!" He sang. I was confused. Where was he taking me?

When Feli stopped, he inspected the place. "You said it's been awhile since you've been in this place?" I asked. I saw where we are and my jaw dropped. "The garbage?!"

"Si! But it's not garbage to me!" Feliciano pouted. "When I look, I see treasure and cute things!" He then pointed to a pile. "A brand new mountain! Yipee, yipee! I'm so lucky!" With that, he jumped down. "Hey!" I called as I followed him. I accidentally stepped on a tin can and fell on my butt. Feliciano waved to me. "If you want, you can stay there! I don't mind it, ve! I'll be out in a few minutes!" With that, he turned his back and explored a pile.

"Are all young boys from the country like this...?" I thought out loud as I lined down on a smooth metal sheet. I yawned, staring at the sunset as I listened to the cry of the cicadas. I felt my eyes become heavy and I closed them.

I heard a footstep and I opened my eyes and was face-to-face with a photographer with his hair tied into a side ponytail. "Whoa there, you surprised me, aru!" He said in a Chinese accent as I sat upright. "Really? I was gonna say that!" I said.

The young photographer scratched his head. "Bàoqiàn (Sorry)! I wasn't sneaking up on you! Promise, aru!" He said. "Are you a local? Are you from Hinamizawa, aru?" I nodded. "Ja, sort of."

"I'm Yao Wang, a freelance photographer." He introduced. "I come here every now and then for work, aru." I stood up. "Aren't you supposed to ask somebody first before you take their picture?" I guessed. "Bàoqiàn, my bad. I usually take pictures of wild birds. I never try asking them, aru! Maybe I should!" With that, Yao laughed. I growled in response.

"Luddy~!" Feliciano's voice called out to me. I turned around. "Sorry for the long wait! I'm almost done! I promise!" He yelled then went back to what he was doing. "Oh? You have company, aru." Yao said, watching Feliciano move scrap metal around. "Is he looking for something specific down there or is he just digging, aru?" He asked. "Nah, I don't know. I think he's looking for that dead body he dismembered a few months ago."

As soon as I said that, a dark shadow was pasted on Yao's face. "That was a horrible crime, aru." He stated. "One of the arms are still missing, right?"

Now that made me paranoid. "M-Missing?" I stuttered. I heard Feliciano giggle. "Thanks for waiting, Ludwig!" He said, though, I ignored it. "I have to go now, they might kick me out. Sorry for sneaking on you, Ludwig. Catch ya later, aru!" With that, Yao walked away.

I processed what he said. An arm still missing?! What did Feliciano do to hide it?! "Oh Luddy~ You waited, you waited! Grazie!" Feliciano said. My eyes averted to Yao walking and Feliciano stepped in front of me. "Ludwig?"

I was snapped out of my thoughts. "Ah? Well? Did you find anything good down there?" I asked. Feli's face lit up. "Si! I did really really good! I found something awesome: a Kenta doll!" He told me. "Kenta doll? Are you talking about that plastic figure that stands in front of that fried chicken place(7)?" I asked. "Si! He's really cute! I wanna take him home with me!" He cooed.

I laughed softly. "Well, it's just trash so I guess people won't mind it when you take him home." I said. "Ve...he's trapped under a pile of junk." Feli said. "I tried to dig him out by myself but I couldn't." I placed my hand on his shoulder. "How about I help you tomorrow?" I proposed. "E-Eh?" He began. "In exchange for that gourmet lunch you made." I added. "Ve~ Grazie! Ludwig will help me dig out my treasure! And I can take him home and have him all to myself!" Feli swooned.

"Hey Feli, has anything bad happened to this dump?" I asked. "I heard that they were trying to build a dam here a while ago but that's what I know so far." Feliciano answered. "A dam? It might be a construction accident. Is that possible?" I guessed. "I don't know." Feliciano answered suddenly in an unusual dark tone. I flinched.

"You see? I was living somewhere else until last year!" Feli's voice went back to its normal happy tone. "Really? Then you must be a transfer student as well! I assumed that you were born here." I said. "No, I transferred so I don't know much about what happened before until last year. Scusate (Sorry), Luddy." His voice became dark again but I shrugged it off. "Ah, that's fine." I assured. He looked at me and giggled slightly in response.

* * *

(1)This is the traditional breakfast in Germany

(2)This is the speaking style of Rena Ryuugu, where it is normal for her to repeat the last part of the sentence or by adding "I wonder if that's true" or "ka na? ka na?" in Japanese. "ka na? ka na?" is the Japanese masculine or neutral way of saying "I wonder if that's true". "Kana-kana" is also the Japanese onomatopeia for the sound that is emitted by the crickets or higurashi. (source: Onikakushi-hen chapter notes)

(3)While retaining his constant use of bastard to Ludwig, Lovino's personality has been altered to match Mion Sonozaki's.

(4)While retaining Feliciano's innocent and happy-go-lucky image, his personality has been altered to match Rena Ryuugu's.

(5)More of Rena's speaking style. Besides repeating the final part of her sentence or saying "I wonder if that's true", Rena will sometimes talk in third person. (source: Onikakushi-hen chapter notes)

(6)It's not just Arthur who's being called jerk, hahahaha. Peter's personality has been altered to match Satoko Hojo's.

(7)Kentucky Fried Chicken is very popular in Japan, especially during Christmas Eve; it's probably less surprising if you note that very few Japanese people are Christian so they treat the holiday as a secular Western one. Majority of the restaurants in Japan have a life-sized statue of Colonel Sanders in front - in Higurashi, this is the 'Kenta-kun' that Rena wants to take home (source: Onikakushi-hen chapter notes)


	2. Chapter 2

***Third person***

 _Ding! Ding! Ding!_

 _Hinamizawa School_

"Bye!" A little girl said as she ran out of the classroom together with her classmate. "See you later!" He yelled as he closed the door and followed his friend.

Inside the now empty classroom, three tables were bundled together and seated around them were Feliciano, Wendy, Peter, Ludwig and Lovino, who was standing at the center. "Alright! In accordance to the rules of our club, I would like to introduce a brand new subject today!" Lovino proudly said. He dramatically pointed at Ludwig, who was making a face. "Let us give a show of hands for the people who thinks it's a good idea to make Ludwig Beilschmidt the newest member to our club!"

Feliciano happily raised his hand. "I don't object, ve!" He said. "Ha ha ha!" Peter laughed. "If the little peasant can keep up with me then I guess it's okay with me!" He bragged. "Peter and I think he's a very good addition to our club." Wendy added.

The elder Vargas brother happily raised his fists in the air. "It's official! Complimenti (Congratulations), Ludwig Beilschmidt! You're now a member of our club!" Ludwig shot up from his seat. "Hey! Halte es (Hold it)! What makes you think I want to join this club, anyway?! I don't even know what it's about!" He yelled. Lovino faked a cough. "This club tries to counter the increasingly complicated actions of society. Our activities are predicated upon the belief that no matter what happens we must always fall out-"

"I think what he's trying to say is that all we do is sit around a play games." Wendy interrupted, summarizing it. "Makes sense now." Ludwig commented. "Let me make one thing clear: competition is fierce and we never play anything lame like House so if you suck, you're gonna hate it." Lovino warned in a dark tone. Devil horns were practically growing out of his head, which made Ludwig intimidated.

"Why do you take it so serious? Why don't we just have some fun?" The German asked. "Yeah right!" Lovino sarcastically said as he pointed his finger out, painfully smacking Ludwig. "Rule number one: Always play to win, no matter what! You have to put effort, nothing less! Do you understand?!"

"Which brings us to rule number two!" Peter followed as he smacked Ludwig with two fingers. "If you want to stay in the club then you must do everything in your guts to win! Always!" He stated. Ludwig rubbed both of his cheeks. "Okay okay! I get it now!"

Lovino walked towards a closet and opened it, revealing kids' toys of various kinds. "Let's see, what kind of game should we play? Complicated ones will give Ludwig a disadvantage..." He wondered as he looked through the pile. "Ah! This one!" He picked up a set of cards and showed it to everyone. "Everyone's familiar with this so I suggest this one! Thoughts about Old Maid(1)?" He asked. "Perfekt (Perfect!)" Ludwig approved, flashing a thumbs up.

The older Italian closed the closet and sat down. "For the punishment game, the winner can do whatever they want to the person who is last." Lovino said. "Sounds good?" Peter winked. "Good plan!" He commented.

Lovino held the cards and began to shuffle them. When he finished, he spread them on both of his hands. "I start with this one!" Feliciano said as he grabbed one card and laid it on the table. "Looks worn out." Ludwig commented. "It's like you guys had them for years. I bet you can tell which is which by looking at the scratches and finger marks." He pointed out.

Peter, Wendy, Feliciano and Lovino gave Ludwig a dark look as they giggled in an uncomfortable way. "Eh?! Hey! That's not fair! That's cheating!" Ludwig said. The three boys and one girl held their cards as they still had the dark look on their faces. "Rule number two clearly said that you must do everything in your guts to win." Peter said. "Don't worry, Luddy. You'll be able to catch up with the cards...ve~" Feliciano encouraged. Ludwig shot up from his seat. "Fine! If that's how you guys want to play, then so be it!" He said.

The German grabbed his cards and the game began. Analyzing them carefully, he picked two cards and softly threw them on the pile at the center of the table. Lovino laughed as he eyed Ludwig's cards. "Hey Ludwig, let me read your cards from right to left! Three, four, nine, Jack, Queen!" He deciphered. Ludwig was caught off guard. How did Lovino figure that out?!

"Ahhhhh!" Ludwig yelled. "Oh, by the way, it's not just the Jack, it's the Jack of Hearts!" Wendy specified. Ludwig shuffled his cards as he screamed in almost utter defeat. No way! Wendy seriously recognized it!

"You can shuffle them as many times as you want, I can still read them!" Peter said as he took the 4 of clubs card. Two cards landed on the pile on the center. "I'm out!" Peter declared. "Aghhhhh!" Ludwig wailed, hitting his face on the table. "You're an evil boy, Peter." He said. "All of you are!" Ludwig's eyes darted to Feliciano, who had an innocent-looking pose. "Except Feli, you're not evil, right?"

Feliciano gave an apologetic look. "Ve...mi dispiace (I'm sorry), Ludwig but you have the three of hearts in your set, don'cha?" He guessed and took it. "I'm out as well!" Feliciano declared. Ludwig wailed. How did Feliciano know?!

The game continued and Ludwig had bad, no, terrible luck. All his friends were very powerful at Old Maid. The game finally reached round 9 and Ludwig still had bad scores.

"Maybe this isn't fair, big brother." Feliciano told to Lovino, who was admiring the German's look of defeat. "If we're going to keep playing, we should use a new deck." He suggested. "Ludwig's having a hard time." Lovino patted his younger brother's back. "It's fine, Feli! He's a strong man, he'll handle it!" Lovino then looked at Ludwig. "You're up for a challenge, right?"

Wendy went near a concentrating Ludwig and gave a couraging pat on his head. "Yeah! You can do it!" She said. The German growled lightly as he hid his cards with both of his hands. "Oh Ludwig, you know you can't hide it!" The elder Vargas brother said. Ludwig uncovered them and Lovino eyed one card. "Dog ear card. That's the two of diamonds, right?" As soon as he said that and took it, the card he guessed wasn't actually the two of diamonds!

"Woah! Big brother Lovino knows all of the cards very well! He hardly makes mistakes!" The younger Vargas brother noted. "No way!" Lovino said, surprised. He looked at Ludwig. "Ludwig! What did you do?!" He asked. Ludwig laughed darkly in response and it evolved into a laugh of success. "Got you, Lovino Vargas!" He boasted.

"You made another card look like something else just like the two of diamonds?!" Peter shot. The German crissed his arms. "Haha!" He laughed. "Uh, wow! That's pretty clever of you!" Peter added.

Wendy clapped her hands. "Clap, clap, clap(2)! Way to go, Ludwig!" She congratulated. Ludwig gave a thumbs up in response. "I can't believe it Ludwig! You did it! You got it! Bel lavoro (Nice job)!" Feliciano praised. "Well, I have to admit, you had that in you all along." Lovino commented. "You kinda surprised me right there in this one! It's very impressive!" He added.

Peter slid over to the blackboard that displayed who won and who lost the round and observed them. "Hehehe! Unfortunately, that brilliant move was a little too late!" He reported. "Ja, I know. I still ended up in last place, anyway." Ludwig calmly said. "As long as I can get away with this game, I'll be completely fine with the digs Lovino has."

Lovino stood up and Ludwig's expression turned into a surprised one. Lovino laughed darkly as he made grabby motions with his hands. "Well, Signor Loser, it's time for the punishment game! Since it's your first day in our club, I'll be very nice and go easy on you!" He assured darkly as he raised a marker. Ludwig trembled as Lovino continued talking. "After all, I don't want to traumatize you so much that you won't show up to school the next day!"

Feliciano, Peter and Wendy grabbed Ludwig and held him still. The German screamed as his captors laughed. "No! Please!" He begged. Lovino walked slowly and dangerously near him, uncapping the marker. "Here I come~ Get ready~"

"NOOOOO!"

 _A horrifying time skip thanks to Ludwig_

"He wants to get the Kenta doll? Wow, I get it. I guess that's why Feliciano tore out of there so fast today." Lovino wondered as he and Ludwig walked on the road. "I can't believe he thinks that thing is cute." Ludwig commented. He had thick circles drawn around his eyes, on his nose, whiskers and a symbol on his forehead. All thanks to the loser game that involved a marker. "He can be very weird sometimes..." He added. "Si, some of his hobbies are rather odd. Once he finds something he thinks is cute, there's no way to tear him away from it." Lovino stated.

"Oh, about that place...the old construction site? It kinda seems like something bad happened there." Ludwig wondered. Lovino went silent for a moment before replying. "Something did. The government officials came by one day to kick us out of the village so that they could build a dam there." He described. "They were gonna kick you out?" Ludwig asked. "Si, they were so we decided to fight them. Everyone joined and if we didn't, this village would be underwater right now." The elder Italian added.

"Wow, I can't believe you guys won." The German said. "It was literally the government that was your enemy." He pointed out. "Well, everyone in the village banded together and with the village leader, they made a petition to anyone they could. They even went to Tokyo to negotiate with the politicians there. In the midst, the plans were withdrawn. All in all, little people won against big people." Lovino summarized, laughing. "Interesting. Did any major clashes happen between you guys and them? Like, a murder or assault of some sort?" Ludwig asked.

A dark shadow casted over Lovino's eyes as he stopped in his tracks. "No. Nothing." He answered. "Uh, okay." Ludwig replied, surprised at his friend's answer. "Okay then! See you tomorrow! And don't wipe that ink off until you get home!" With that, Lovino ran to the opposite direction. "Fine! I'll leave it on my face then!" Ludwig yelled, watching his friend skip.

 _Later, at the dumpsite..._

Feliciano huffed and puffed as he tugged on a treasure. His frail body didn't kick his strength in to pull it out. "Feliciano!" He heard a familiar voice call him. Feliciano looked up and found Ludwig at the peak of a mountain of garbage. "Working hard?" Ludwig asked as he climbed down.

"Ah. What a surprise." The young Italian said. "Ludwig, what are you doing here?" He asked. The German dramatically saluted. "I have received urgent information on an innocent victim and I'm here to assist. Who is it? How can I help?" Ludwig asked. "Ah, no, no victim." Feliciano answered. "According to my reports, a dumkopf buried the Kenta doll in a pile."

Feliciano immediately understood. "Ah! I get it! Scusate (Sorry), I wasn't following!" He apologized. "So, where is he?" Ludwig asked, looking around. "Right here!" Feliciano went to a pile and pointed to it. "He's deeply buried. Can you see him?" Ludwig peeped through a hole and found the doll. "Wow, he's really buried alive." He commented. "If we're gonna dig him out, we'll need an axe."

"Ah, wait right here, okay?" The young Italian told to the German and stood up to get something. "Hey!" Ludwig called out. He walked near another pile and found stacks of newspapers and tabloids. Picking up a tabloid, Yao's voice rang in his head.

 _"That was a horrible crime, aru. They're still missing one of the arms, aren't they?"_

Ludwig opened the tabloid and found the article about the crime. His eyes widened at the article name.

 _Hinamizawa Worker Lynch Death_

"It's this one." Ludwig softly mused. "'Horrible tragedy at the Hinamizawa dam. Lynched and hacked to pieces. The murderer suspiciously attacked the victim with hatchets and pickaxes. After torturing the victim, they used an axe to cut the corpse into six pieces. Head, arms, legs and torso. One of the murderers is still on the loose'?!" He read.

He flashbacked to what Feliciano said to him yesterday.

 _"I don't know."_

And then a flashback on what Lovino told him earlier.

 _"No. Nothing."_

Ludwig couldn't tear his eyes away from the tabloid. "It's true." He mumbled. "A murder..."

 _"Looking back at it, I can't help but think that with all those screaming cicadas were really trying to do that right was a warning. Warning me about everything that was about to go wrong..."_

 _To be continued..._

* * *

(1)In Japan, this card game is known as "Baba-Nuki" in its original language. The variant that the club is playing is called "Jiji-Nuki", where "jiji" is the male equivalent of "baba". In Baba-Nuki, one of the Joker cards is removed from the deck while in Jiji-Nuki, one card of any type can be removed (source: Onikakushi-hen chapter notes)

(2)This is the speaking style of Rika Furude. It is normal for her to say the onomatopoeic sounds she makes. Example is "The bell goes 'ding ding ding!'" (source: Higurashi wiki)


	3. Chapter 3

_Previously in The Beginning_

 _Hinamizawa Worker Lynch Death_

"So it's true...there was a murder..." Ludwig horrifyingly mused to himself, unaware that Feliciano was walking towards him.

 _Plonk!_

Ludwig gasped and turned around to see Feliciano carrying a large axe, a dark expression present on his face. Startled, Ludwig screamed and toppled backwards.

"Ve? Are you okay? Are you?" Feliciano gasped as he went near the German. "I guess..." He answered. "But you scared me." He pointed out. "Well...you said that we needed an axe or something to get him out so I got this one." The Italian said.

Ludwig stood up and dusted off his clothes. "A big one too." He commented. "It's getting dark, though. How about tomorrow?" He proposed. Feliciano's face fell. "Oh Luddy..." He mumbled sadly. "Hey, don't be sad. We'll get the Kenta doll tomorrow, okay?" Ludwig proposed. "Si, I guess you're right." Feliciano replied and giggled.

 _Spirited Away by the Demon Chapter 2 - The Secret_

"Festival?"

"I told you the other day, bastard. The Cotton Drifting festival."

"Wendy has a spot in the festival's executive committee, isn't that right?" Lovino asked. "Yep, it is!" Wendy answered. "Ah, so what's this Cotton Drifting festival about anyway?" Ludwig asked.

"It's where we take our worn out blankets and padded kimonos then we pay our respects by having a memorial service before sending them down the stream." The elder Italian answered. "Sounds boring..." Ludwig mumbled. "No! It's not! We can hardly wait for it!" Lovino said. "The Cotton Drifting festival is the battle of four evils!" The remaining quartet said in unison. "Battle of what?"

"Actually, since you're going to be with us now, it'll be called the battle of five evils." Wendy changed. "Five?!" Ludwig asked. Peter laughed. "Ha ha ha! On the day of the festival, you're gonna show everybody in the village all of the skills you honed from our club!" Peter exclaimed. "What he means is that we're gonna do our club activities in each of the street stalls." The young girl summarized.

The quartet giggled. "Oh I get it..." Ludwig mumbled.

 _Time skip_

 _Click!_

Yao looked at his camera, admiring the picture of the bird he took. He switched back to camera mode and was about to take another when a familiar voice called him. "Hey there!"

Yao turned around. "Ah, hēi (hey) Ludwig! Nice to see you again, aru!" He greeted. "You too." Ludwig replied.

"Got any new pictures?" Lovino asked. "Shi a (Yeah), I got a couple good ones." Yao answered. "Wow Ludwig, I didn't know you were among the popular boys." He commented. "So jealous, I wanna be surrounded with boys like them, aru."

The German and the Vargas twins were taken aback. "Ah, nein, it's not like that at all." Ludwig reasoned. "Are you gonna be here long enough to see the Cotton Drifting festival?" Lovino asked. "Shi a, that's the plan." The Chinese photographer answered. "I'd figure that I would blow off a few roles of film during the festival and head on back to Tokyo the day after, aru."

"Ve, I hope that you're pictures get into the awards." Feliciano hoped. "Huh?" Yao was confused before bursting into a fit of laughter. Stepping over the small creek of water, his laughing died down. "Well, see you guys at the festival, aru!" Yao said before leaving the group behind. "See ya!" Lovino called.

"So you guys know Herr (Mister) Yao too, huh?" Ludwig asked. The Vargas twins nodded in answer. "He comes to Hinamizawa two to three times a year." Lovino described. "He's always taking pictures of the seasons and the wild birds, too." Feliciano added.

"Wild birds, huh?" Ludwig wondered.

 _A time skip_

***First person - Ludwig***

A couple of days later, the Cotton Drifting festival arrived right on schedule. Wendy went near us dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit. "Hi everybody. Are you ready for the festival?" She asked.

Feliciano began to spazz out from Wendy's cuteness. "Wow! You look nice!" Lovino complimented. "You look great this year, too!" Peter added.

"You're so cute! I wanna take you home with me(1), ve~!" Feliciano cooed, already unable to handle it. "Alright, everyone! Let's do this festival!" Lovino said in a charging way. "Yeah!" We replied (for some reason, Feli was holding Wendy).

"Ah, there goes the young squad, aru." Yao mused to himself and directed his camera at us. "Round one! Eating contest from all the stands!" Lovino announced. We gobbled our spicy takoyaki and we pretty much couldn't handle some of them (I was the worse).

Next was shaved ice and we all got brain freeze from eating too fast. Last was cotton candy and Peter had fun eating it. "I'm not gonna lose!" I heard him say.

We then went to a stand where we have to shoot our desired prize with a gun filled with three soft cork bullets loaded in it. Feli and Wendy had no luck but I managed to get the teddy bear in two shots just for them.

 _Time skip to night fall_

***Third person***

It was finally the star of the Cotton Drifting festival. Wendy worked up a sweat on the stage as she did her required tasks. For a small girl like her, it would be hard but to Wendy, it was no problem.

The audience watched as she brought her rake down to the cotton and pounded it, repeating the process.

People went to the stream where they would place the cotton balls to the water and let them flow.

"Cotton Drifting, huh?"

"Yeah, the cotton absorbs all the bad stuff from your body."

Ludwig tossed his cotton ball to the stream. "You just toss the cotton ball to the stream and that's it, you're done!" Feliciano said.

 _Time skip_

Ludwig walked along the grass, the only source of light being the stars and moon. "I wonder where Feli went..." He wondered, looking around. "He was just right here."

The German heard voices and looked down to see Yao talking to a woman who had long blonde hair. "Herr Yao!" He called and ran down towards them. "How's it going? Where's everyone else, aru?" Yao asked. "Seems that we got separated." Ludwig answered.

"So what'd you think of it, Ludwig?" The woman asked in a Belarusian accent. "Were you able to enjoy the festival?" She added. "I guess." Ludwig answered. "Really?" The woman said. _Who is this person anyway?_ Ludwig thought.

"So, do you think after tonight you can say you're a part of Hinamizawa?" She asked. "I don't know. I still feel like I'm in the dark of things." Ludwig answered.

"Shénme (What)? You mean the one about Hinamizawa, aru?" Yao guessed. "Ja I guess so." Ludwig replied. "Well, there's that stuff about the dam. I heard that Hinamizawa was close to being underwater." He told. "That was a big deal, wasn't it?"

"I think they started planning that dam project seven or eight years ago. For a while there, it looked like Hinamizawa and all the other villages have screamed that they were gonna be underwater." Yao began. "No way." Ludwig mumbled. "Most of the town protested. Eventually, it was brought to court. They found out about the scandals and corruptions involved around it. In the midst, the construction was cancelled." The photographer continued.

"What about the murder where someone was chopped out? You hear anything about that?" The German asked. "I heard about that." Yao answered. "Happened 4 years ago around this time of the year. I think it happened on the day of the Cotton Drifting Festival too." He described.

"All the old folks in town were positive that the murder was the result of the curse of Oyashiro." The woman said. "The curse of Oyashiro?" Ludwig repeated. "What's that about?"

"People said it was divine punishment by Oyashiro, the guardian god of Hinamizawa. Revenge for threatening to flood the village." Yao described. "Since that time, it's happened every single year." The woman added.

"What do you mean? What's happened?" The German asked. "Each year, on the day of the Cotton Drifting festival, somebody dies." The photographer answered, making Ludwig gasp. "Every year?!" He repeated.

"Shi (Yes). On the day of the festival, year after the hacked up body was found, a resident of Hinamizawa who supported the construction died when he fell off the cliff into the water. Poor guy was on vacation. As for his wife, well, they never found her body." Yao described.

"And the year after that, on the night of the festival, the priest of the shrine came down with some unknown illness and dropped dead on the spot. His wife drowned herself in the swamp on the same night." The woman added.

"And then, the following year, also on the night of the Cotton Drifting festival, a housewife who lived in the neighborhood was found beaten to death." Yao finished. "R-Really?" Ludwig trembled. "Ja viedaju (I know). Strange isn't it? Remember the man who fell off the cliff and died? His younger brother was married to the housewife." The Belarusian woman explained.

Ludwig felt his blood freeze at what he was hearing. "After that first murder, there's been four Cotton Drifting festivals. The fifth one is..." Yao began. "...tonight." The woman finished.

Ludwig's eyes widened in shock, watching the last cotton balls float by.

* * *

(1)In Higurashi, characters call this side of Rena her "Kawaii" or "Cute Mode". This is where she often tries to take the cute thing home with her, even if it doesn't belong to her, be it an object or a person (source: Higurashi wiki)


	4. Chapter 4

_Hinamizawa School_

 _Ding! Ding! Ding!_

***First person - Ludwig***

The principal rang his bell, signifying that it was break time. What Herr Yao told me freaked me out. All those mysterious deaths that happened during the Cotton Drifting festival. And to think, I actually believed I had nothing to do with that.

I stayed silent as I gazed out of the classroom window as I listened to the cries of the morning cicadas. "I just solved the mystery!" Lovino said, breaking my thoughts. In front of him laid three cards that we were playing. Yellow, red and blue. Lovino took the red card and flipped it. "The suspect is Wendy!" He then flipped the blue card. "Her weapon is poison!" He then flipped the yellow card. "She did it in the nurse's office!"

Me and Peter lost our shit.

"No dammit no!"

"Why didn't I get that?!"

Wendy smiled innocently. "I like using poison to kill. Because it's gentle death." She described. Lovino laughed. "That was too easy!" He said. Peter fumed and I slumped over. "One more game!" I said. "Before we do, I have to use the bathroom." I excused myself and went out of the classroom. "Take your time, potato! Try not to slip into a number two!" Lovino replied. "Eww, Lovi! That's gross!" I heard Feli reply in disgust.

I laughed slightly. "This will give me time to plan out my strategy." I told myself as I entered the boys' washroom. "Oh Ludwig." I heard someone call out. I turned and saw Miss Lena. "I believe there's a gentleman here who likes to have a word with you." She told. "I told him to wait at the entrance, okay?"

"I have a visitor?" I asked. I went out to see the visitor. He had shoulder-length blonde hair and wore a white beret. He saw me and went inside. "Are you Ludwig Beilschmidt?" He asked in a Swiss accent. "Ja, that's me. Who are you?" I replied.

"Mind if we talk? It will only take a minute." He requested, holding up a card-like thing from his shirt pocket. He took me outside, where his car was parked and we entered. "So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked. The man showed me a picture. "This boy. Do you know him?" He asked.

I took the picture and my eyes widened. "Isn't this Herr Yao?" I asked. "Then you might know this lady too, right?" He got another photo and showed it to me. It was the woman that I met during the Cotton Drifting festival.

"Ah, ja. I don't know her name but she was with Herr Yao last night." I remembered. "So when was the last time you saw both of them?" The man asked. "Last night." I answered. "I mean, I talked to them during the Cotton Drifting festival." I added.

"Did you notice anything strange about either of them?" He asked. "I need you to tell me everything you can remember." He added. "Wait, did something happen to them?" I asked. The man opened the window of his car. "Well, for starters, that boy in the picture? He died last night." He answered.

My eyes widened in horror. "W-Was (What)?!" I gasped.

 _To be continued..._


End file.
